Is it me or the sin within me?

Romans 7:15-20 NIV
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

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Most people struggle with shame at some point and Christians are no exception. In fact, Christians seem to carry  more shame than  most. Shame is believing that you are a bad person because of the things you have done and even the things you continue to do. Shame is the biggest hurdle in sex addiction treatment and it makes acting out very difficult to stop. Paul may have not been a sex addict but he could identity with continuing to do things that are against his character and his faith. He was able to separate himself from his behavior and label it as sin. Doing this casts the sin as the enemy and not the self. This can be a very first step for many struggling with the shame of sex and porn addiction and it is good to know that doing so has roots in the Bible.